The West Encounters & Transformations, Combined Volume

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Rather than looking at Western civilization only as the history of Europe from ancient times to the present, this groundbreaking book examines the changing nature of the West—how the definition of the West has evolved and has been transformed throughout history. It explores the ways Western civilization has changed as a result of cultural encounters with different beliefs, ideas, technologies, and peoples, both outside the West and within it. Presenting a balanced treatment of political, social, religious, and cultural history, this text emphasizes the ever-shifting boundaries of the geographic and cultural realm of the West.

MyHistoryLab is an integral part of the Levack program. Key learning applications include Closer Looks, MyHistoryLibrary, and writing assessment.

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In this Section:

1) Brief Table of Contents

2) Full Table of Contents

1) Brief Table of Contents

Chapter 1: The Beginnings of Civilization, 10,000—1150 B.C.E.

Chapter 2: The Age of Empires: The International Bronze Age and Its Aftermath, ca. 1500—550 B.C.E.

Chapter 3: Greek Civilization

Chapter 4: Hellenistic Civilization

Chapter 5: The Roman Republic Chapter 6: Enclosing the West: The Early Roman Empire and Its Neighbors, 31 B.C.E.—235 C.E.

Chapter 7: Late Antiquity: The Age of New Boundaries, 250—600

Chapter 8: Medieval Empires and Borderlands: Byzantium and Islam

Chapter 9: Medieval Empires and Borderlands: The Latin West

Chapter 10: Medieval Civilization: The Rise of Western Europe

Chapter 11: The Medieval West in Crisis

Chapter 12: The Italian Renaissance and Beyond: The Politics of Culture Chapter 13: The West and the World: The Significance of Global Encounters, 1450—1650 Chapter 14: The Reformations of Religion Chapter 15: The Age of Confessional Division

Chapter 16: Absolutism and State Building in Europe, 1618—1715

Chapter 17: The Scientific Revolution

Chapter 18: The West and the World: Empire, Trade, and War, 1650—1815

Chapter 19: Eighteenth-Century Society and CultureChapter 20: The Age of the French Revolution, 1789—1815

Chapter 24: The West and the World: Cultural Crisis and the New Imperialism, 1870—1914

Chapter 25: The First World War Chapter 26: Reconstruction, Reaction, and Continuing Revolution: The 1920s and 1930s

Chapter 27: World War II

Chapter 28: Redefining the West After World War II

Chapter 29: The West in the Contemporary Era: New Encounters and Transformations

2) Full Table of Contents

Chapter 1: The Beginnings of Civilization, 10,000—1150 B.C.E. Defining Civilization, Defining Western CivilizationMesopotamia: Kingdoms, Empires, and ConquestsEgypt: The Empire of the Nile

Chapter 2: The Age of Empires: The International Bronze Ageand Its Aftermath, ca. 1500—550 B.C.E. The Dynamism of the International Bronze AgeRecovery and Rebuilding: Empires and Societies in the Aftermath of the International Bronze AgeThe Civilization of the Hebrews

Chapter 4: Hellenistic Civilization The Impact of Alexander the GreatHellenism in the East and WestHellenistic Society and CultureHellenistic Philosophy and Science

Chapter 5: The Roman Republic The Nature of the Roman RepublicRoman Territorial ExpansionThe Culture of the Roman RepublicSocial Life in Republican RomeThe End of the Roman Republic

Chapter 6: Enclosing the West: The Early Roman Empire and Its Neighbors, 31 B.C.E.—235 C.E. The Imperial CenterLife in the Roman Provinces: Assimilation, Resistance, and RomanizationThe Frontier and BeyondSociety and Culture in the Imperial Age

Chapter 7: Late Antiquity: The Age of New Boundaries, 250—600 Crisis and Recovery in the Third CenturyToward a Christian EmpireNew Christian Communities and IdentitiesThe Breakup of the Roman Empire

Chapter 8: Medieval Empires and Borderlands: Byzantium and Islam Byzantium: The Survival of the Roman EmpireThe New World of Islam

Chapter 9: Medieval Empires and Borderlands: The Latin West The Birth of Latin ChristendomThe CarolingiansInvasions and Recovery in the Latin WestThe West in the East: The Crusades

Chapter 10: Medieval Civilization: The Rise of Western Europe Two Worlds: Manors and CitiesThe Consolidation of Roman Catholicism Strengthening the Center of the West Medieval Culture: The Search for Understanding

Chapter 11: The Medieval West in Crisis A Time of DeathA Cold Wind from the EastEconomic Depression and Social TurmoilAn Age of WarfareA Troubled Church and the Demand for Religious ComfortThe Culture of Loss

Chapter 12: The Italian Renaissance and Beyond: The Politics of CultureThe Cradle of the Renaissance: The Italian City-StatesThe Influence of Ancient CultureThe Early Modern European State System

Chapter 13: The West and the World: The Significance of Global Encounters, 1450—1650 Europeans in AfricaEuropeans in the AmericasEuropeans in AsiaThe Beginnings of the Global System

Chapter 15: The Age of Confessional Division The Peoples of Early Modern EuropeDisciplining the PeopleHunting WitchesThe Confessional StatesStates and Confessions in Eastern Europe

Chapter 16: Absolutism and State Building in Europe, 1618—1715 The Nature of AbsolutismThe Absolutist State in France and SpainAbsolutism and State Building in Central and Eastern EuropeResistance to Absolutism in England and the Dutch Republic

Chapter 17: The Scientific Revolution The Discoveries and Achievements of the Scientific RevolutionThe Search for Scientific KnowledgeThe Causes of the Scientific RevolutionThe Intellectual Consequences of the Scientific RevolutionHumans and the Natural World

Chapter 18: The West and the World: Empire, Trade, and War, 1650—1815European Empires in the Americas and AsiaWarfare in Europe, North America, and AsiaThe Atlantic WorldEncounters Between Europeans and AsiansThe Crisis of Empire and the Atlantic Revolutions

Chapter 19: Eighteenth-Century Society and Culture The AristocracyChallenges to Aristocratic DominanceThe EnlightenmentThe Impact of the Enlightenment

Chapter 20: The Age of the French Revolution, 1789—1815 The First French Revolution, 1789—1791The French Republic, 1792—1799Cultural Change in France during the RevolutionThe Napoleonic Era, 1799—1815The Legacy of the French Revolution

Chapter 21: The Industrial Revolution The Nature of the Industrial RevolutionConditions Favoring Industrial GrowthThe Spread of IndustrializationThe Effects of IndustrializationIndustry, Trade, and Empire

Chapter 22: Ideological Conflict and National Unification, 1815—1871 New Ideologies in the Early Nineteenth CenturyIdeological Encounters in Europe, 1815—1848National Unification in Europe and America, 1848—1871International Conflict and Domestic Politics, 1853—1871

Chapter 24: The West and the World: Cultural Crisis and the New Imperialism, 1870—1914 Scientific TransformationsCultural Crisis: The Fin-de-Siècle and the Birth of ModernismThe New Imperialism

Chapter 25: The First World War The Origins of the First World WarThe Experience of Total WarThe Home FrontsWar and Revolution

Chapter 26: Reconstruction, Reaction, and Continuing Revolution: The 1920s and 1930s Cultural Despair and Desire The Appeal of Authoritarianism and the Rise of FascismNazism and the Defeat of Democracy in GermanyThe Soviet Alternative and the Democracies’ Response The Reconstruction of GenderThe West and the World: Imperialism in the Interwar Era

Chapter 27: World War II The Coming of War Europe at War, 1939—1941 The World at War, 1941—1945The Wars Within the WarThe Home Front: The Other Wars

Chapter 28: Redefining the West After World War II A Dubious Peace, 1945—1949The West and the World: Decolonization and the Cold WarThe Soviet Union and Eastern Europe in the 1950s and 1960sThe West: Consensus, Consumption, and Culture

Chapter 29: The West in the Contemporary Era: New Encounters and Transformations Economic Stagnation and Political Change: The 1970s and 1980sRevolution in the EastIn the Wake of RevolutionRethinking the West